


weather the storm

by inquisitor_tohru



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, F/F, Mage Origin, The Harrowing (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-19 21:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18978691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inquisitor_tohru/pseuds/inquisitor_tohru
Summary: Neria anxiously awaits Solona's return from the Harrowing chamber.





	weather the storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



_ "Among apprentices of the Circle, nothing is regarded with more fear than the Harrowing." _

\- Brother Genitivi,  _ In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar _

 

Neria tapped her nails on the old wooden library desk, earning a sharp look from one of the older mages. It had been two hours since Solona had been taken for her Harrowing. 

A week ago, Solona had rolled her eyes when Jowan asked how Neria's had gone, as if she could even have explained the experience to him if she'd been allowed to.

" _ Harrowing _ ," she'd told him, poker-faced, as Solona laughed behind her hands. She already missed that laugh.  _ You'll hear it again soon,  _ she told herself. Solona was capable, but worrying was inevitable. Neria knew how to take care of herself, but she was always looking out for Solona. The Templars had plucked Neria from the slums of the Denerim alienage, but Solona was part of some noble family from the Free Marches - she'd been a little hazy on the details. 

Solona was soft, and that made her soft, too.

_ Three hours. _ How long had hers taken? Now that she thought about it she realised she had no idea what day it was when she woke up in her bed. Jowan might know, but she was avoiding him, and he was probably in the chapel again, doing whatever it was he did there. Neria couldn't abide the chapel. She and Solona had always felt most at home surrounded by bookshelves packed with dusty, dogeared tomes. Besides, Templars rarely bothered patrolling the library, and she could sit by the window.

They'd shared their first kiss by the elemental magic section.

_ Five hours _ , and Neria lit a candle so that she might continue to read the same sentence over and over. She was no closer to understanding the survival techniques of the people who dwelled in the Frozen Wastes. 

_ Six and a half.  _ She'd heard rumours that if an apprentice took too long to complete their Harrowing, they'd be slaughtered, possession or no. But how long was too long? 

She twisted her silver ring, infused with lyrium, presented to her upon completing her Harrowing. She barely remembered being escorted from the chamber, but she the memory of receiving her mage's ring was almost unnaturally vivid. 

If Solona was back - no,  _ when  _ she was back - Neria would swap rings with her. She had wanted to produce a ring of her own, but she only coppers and her smithing skills left a good deal to be desired and she hadn't the foggiest idea how to go about enchanting. 

_ Seven.  _ Neria woke to the thud of heavy raindrops on the windowsill, the library now pitch black. She snapped her fingers to conjure a flame and almost fell out of her seat.

"I'm disappointed, Neri. You promised you'd wait up for me." Solona's sly smile was illuminated by a shock of lightning and warm candlelight. Neria had never seen anything more beautiful. She took Solona's hands in hers and, after scanning the doorways, drew her into a kiss. 

"I can see why you wanted to be alone after yours," Solona said gently.

"Is that why you took so long?" 

"I, um, may have passed out in the Harrowing chamber - don't give me that look, I'm fine - and then when I eventually woke up in my bed I was interrogated by Jowan." Neria sighed and shook her head.

"That boy is _ persistent _ ." Solona suddenly looked solemn.

"He's scared, Neri." Neria shrugged. It was true that he'd certainly seemed skittish of late, but Jowan was always skittish.

"He'll be worrying that he'll be taken for his Harrowing soon, too. That's all. It'd be weird if he  _ wasn't  _ at least a bit scared." She smiled, and pulled Solona closer until their foreheads touched. "I was more scared today than I was for my own Harrowing."

"It's over." Solona brought her hands to Neria's golden, freckled cheeks. "I'm okay - as okay as I can be.  _ We're  _ okay, and we can talk about it now. I mean, if you want to - if you're ready." Neria sighed again, and nodded.

"Only if we can have hot cocoa."

"It's a date."


End file.
